1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of containers and coolers which are used to hold a beverage can or bottle and also to devices which are used to open a bottle cap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Beverage container coolers and bottle cap openers are well known in the prior art. The following 14 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art references which are related to the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 937,850 issued to Edmund A. Parker on Oct. 26, 1909 for “Coaster And Bottle Opener” (hereafter the Parker patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 1,755,086 issued to Charles Ernest Tapp on Apr. 15, 1930 for “Combination Tumbler And Bottle Opener” (hereafter the “'086 Tapp patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 1,810,630 issued to Charles Ernest Tapp on Jun. 16, 1931 for “Combination Container And Bottle Opener” (hereafter the “'630 Tapp patent”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,301 issued to Edward Grunwald on May 15, 1956 for “Cap Remover And Bottle Opener For Bottles And Cans” (hereafter the “Grunwald patent”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,126 issued to Werner W. Martinmaas and assigned to The Future Bottle Corp. on Feb. 22, 1966 for “Beverage Container With Integral Crown Cap Remover” (hereafter the “Martinmaas patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,300 issued to Asim Ghosh et al. and assigned to Carling O'Keefe Breweries of Canada Limited on Jan. 17, 1989 for “Bottle With Integral Cap-Removing Recess” (hereafter the “Ghosh patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,618 issued to Carl B. McKee on May 16, 1989 for “Coaster/Opener For Beverage Containers” (hereafter the “McKee patent”);
8. U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,271 issued to Curt Edward Silbert on Apr. 22, 2003 for “Neoprene Bottle Insulator” (hereafter the “Silbert patent”);
9. U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 367,413 issued to Scott Ballin on Feb. 27, 1996 for “Combined Shot Glass And Bottle Opener” (hereafter the “Ballin Design patent”);
10. U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 388,660 issued to Harald Gründl and assigned to Bergmann, Bohmann, Gründl—Design GmbH on Jan. 6, 1998 for “Drinking Cup With Cover And Opener For Beverage Tins” (hereafter the “Gründl Design patent”);
11. U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,380 issued to Peter Dorney on May 16, 2000 for “Glow Cup System” (hereafter the “Dorney patent”);
12. United States Published Patent Application No. 2002/0175169 issued to Khetrat Tham-itthisak on Nov. 28, 2002 for “Drinking Glass With Integral Bottle Opener” (hereafter the “Tham-itthisak Published patent application”);
13. U.S. Design Pat. No. D506,910 issued to Khetrat Tham-itthisak on Jul. 5, 2005 for “Glass Bottle Opener” (hereafter the “Tham-itthisak Design patent”);
14. United States Published Patent Application No. 2006/0016294 issued to Michael W. McGrath et al. on Jan. 26, 2006 for “Temperature Insulated Beverage Container Receptacle And Opening Apparatus” (hereafter the “McGrath Published patent application”);
The Parker patent discloses a combination of a coaster and a bottle cap opener. This invention discloses the concept of having a bottle which can sit on the coasters and alternatively turning over a portion of the coaster so that it can be used as a bottle cap opener.
The '086 Tapp patent discloses the combination of a tumbler and a bottle cap opener incorporated into the side wall of the tumbler.
The '630 Tapp patent is a combination container having a bottle cap opener in the bottom wall of the container by which the bottle cap can be removed in a crown removing method as discussed in the patent.
The Grunwald patent is a combination of having a bottle cap remover either formed into the bottom of a bottle or having a can or a container into which the bottle is placed. Therefore, this patent also discloses the concept of having a container in which the bottle can be placed and having a bottle cap remover in the container.
The Martinmaas patent discloses a beverage container which has built into the bottom wall a cap removing means which can be used to remove a crown cap from a bottle, wherein the cap removing means is formed in the exterior of the bottom surface.
The Ghosh patent discloses a bottle having a bottle remover formed into the bottom surface of the bottle with a twist-off type removing mechanism. Therefore, one bottle can be placed underneath a second bottle and then the bottle on top can be twisted to remove a twist-off bottle cap.
The McKee patent discloses a coaster onto which a can or bottle can be placed and has means on the bottom of the coaster so that the bottle cap can be twisted off. There is also a mechanism to enable a pop top can to be opened. This invention discloses the concept of having a twist-off bottle opener in the bottle extending from the outward bottom surface of the coaster.
The Silbert patent is a combination neoprene bottle insulator which has a thermally insulated beverage bottle holder having a detachable carrying strap and a bottle opener and a bottle cap.
The Ballin patent is a design patent which discloses a combined shot glass and bottle opener. The bottle opener is placed in the bottom of the shot glass which is more of a crown as opposed to a twist-off type bottle opener so that the bottle can be opened from the bottom of the shot glass and the liquor poured in.
The Gründl patent is also a design patent which discloses a drinking cup with a cover and a sharp opener for beverage tins.
The Dorney patent discloses a glow cup system. The primary function of the device is to have a phosphorescent glowing mechanism by which the cup can be seen in the dark. The invention also discloses a twist-off bottle opener with teeth incorporated into the bottom of the container so that it can be used to twist-off a bottle cap.
The Tham-itthisak Published patent application discloses a drinking glass with integral bottle opener, which is more of a crown type bottle opening device. The drinking glass has beverage retaining section. The outer surface of the closed end includes a bottle opener formed therein. The bottle opener is positioned in the drinking glass such that a bottle can be opened with the drinking glass while the drinking glass contains liquid without spilling the liquid in the glass or in the bottle.
The Tham-itthisak Design patent is essentially the same device as shown in the previous published patent application.
The McGrath Published patent application discloses a temperature insulated beverage container receptacle and opening apparatus. In this case the device includes a twist-off mechanism to twist-off a bottle cap. The bottom also contains a second cavity so that the device can be used to remove a crown type bottle cap. Therefore, this published patent application discloses the concept of having side-by-side twist-off and crown cap opening features.
There is significant need to provide a holder which can serve as a combination bottle/can beverage cooler and bottle cap opener.